[Turkey]Transsexuals call for improved rightsA lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, association in the western province of Bursa has called on the government to start an initiative to institutionally secure the rights of members of this marginalized group.

[USA]After Criticism from GLAAD, Ticked-Off Trannies Director Promises ChangeMovieline just heard from Israel Luna, the director of the suddenly-hot Tribeca fest entry Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives, a “transploitation” revenge thriller attacked by GLAAD last week. Said the organization then: “The film, its title and its marketing misrepresent the lives of transgender women and use grotesque, exploitative depictions of violence against transgender women in ways that make light of the horrific brutality they all too often face.” Luna took issue with that description, though as he told Movieline today, the criticism has convinced him to change the film’s trailer: (...) Here’s the original version of the trailer:

[USA] [Commentary]What Transgendered Parents Can Teach Us About Motherhood and FatherhoodLet me share with you a real-life story involving a transgendered parent. A few years after Michael B. married his wife Barbara in the 1970s, he told her that he preferred wearing women's clothing and that he felt more comfortable thinking of himself as a woman.The marriage was a rocky one, but it lasted for almost twenty more years. In 1998, the couple divorced and a year later Michael had gender reassignment surgery and changed her name to Monica. After that, Barbara went to court in their home state of Kentucky and successfully got an order prohibiting Monica from contacting any of their four children because she was now living as a woman.But things soon got even worse for Monica. Barbara eventually remarried and she and her new husband petitioned the court to terminate all of Monica's parental rights so that the new husband could adopt the one child out of the four who was still then a minor.

[USA]The Heartache of Mike Penner/Christine DanielsThe gender transition and suicide of sportswriter Mike Penner/Christine Daniels was chronicled in an article over the weekend by his former employer, the LA Times. Penner/Daniels became an overnight sensation in 2007 when he announced plans for a gender shift in a column for the Times called "Old Mike, new Christine."

[USA]ENDA Vote May Be NearWith health care a done deal, Baldwin and Frank say House is poised to move on employment anti-discrimination for LGBT people

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]Being a Transgender Person is No Longer a Pre-existing ConditionIn a historic moment, President Obama signed the health care reform bill into law last week. The law will allow millions of Americans to be able to afford insurance coverage and to access quality health care. In expanding access to health care, the law addresses one of many social justice issues we encounter today in American society.Transgender people can be rest assured that insurance companies cannot deny or drop coverage to an individual because that individual is transgender. The health care reform law bans insurance companies from dropping or denying coverage to individuals or their dependents because of their pre-existing conditions. Thus, being a transgender person cannot be denied coverage or dropped by an insurance company because the insurance company considers transgender people to have a pre-existing condition. However, we should note that this portion of the health care reform law will not be enforced until 2014.

[CA, USA]Fighting for a hate-free unionChristine Darosa reports on the fight of a transgender union activist in Service Employees International Union Local 1021 to remove a union supervisor from his position because of his reported prejudice.

[CA, USA]Transgender Latinas Organize at City CollegeAndrea Flores recalls getting stares and muffled comments by Latinos when she walked across the City College of San Francisco’s Mission campus.“They would look at me and they would laugh,” said Flores, a shy, soft spoken, slim transgender woman with long flowing hair.“They would say, ‘there goes a joto,” she added, describing the derogatory Spanish slang word used to describe a gay man.

[OK, USA]In Seeking To Strip Gays Of Hate Crimes Protections, Oklahoma Removes Protections For Race And ReligionIn October, President Obama signed The Matthew Shepard Act, expanding the reach of the 1969 hate crimes law to “authorize the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.” Previously, the law only allowed for the federal prosecution of anyone who “willingly injures, intimidates or interferes with another person, or attempts to do so, by force because of the other person’s race, color, religion or national origin.”State lawmakers in Oklahoma argued that the Shepard Act would trample on the free speech rights of religious leaders “who preached out against the lifestyle of the victim who was attacked.” On March 10, the Oklahoma state Senate thought it was passing a bill prohibiting “local and state law enforcement agencies from sharing information about hate crimes with federal authorities if the state of Oklahoma did not recognize the crime as a hate crime by its own statutes.” Oklahoma state law does not recognize “sexual orientation or gender identity” as a special class and fails to provide gay and lesbians with hate crimes protections.Oops! Oklahoma Senate opts out of wrong hate crimes law

[UK]Sex-change killer to wed lesbian murderess in jailA double killer is getting married behind bars after being switched to a women's jail following a sex swap - and falling for a lesbian murderess.Strangler Douglas Wakefield, 61, has won permission to get hitched in the prison chapel.Lags will be guests at the civil partnership ceremony as the beast - who underwent a taxpayer-funded "gender reassignment" and is now called "Tai" - recites vows with mum-of-three Thelma Purchase, 45, a fellow lifer.

[Finland]Ombudsman: Equality Law to Protect TranssexualsEquality Ombudsman Pirkko Mäkinen says Finland’s equality law is in need of modernisation, especially in regard to the rights of transsexuals. The issue has been raised following the case of Lutheran minister Marja-Sisko Aalto, who felt forced to leave her job after undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

[Africa]Africa: Make those homosexuals disappear!In Uganda, there is a burning desire to send them to the gallows. Woe betide those who dare "marry" in Malawi. In Zimbabwe, President Mugabe and Premier Tsvangirai have surprisingly agreed to refuse to consider their rights in the new constitution, with the former describing them as "pigs" and "dogs". In 38 of the 53 countries on the continent, homosexuals are treated like criminals.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]Now that Health Care Reform Passed, is the ENDA in Sight?Health care reform. It's the subject on everyone's lips. However, now that the bill has been enacted, attention is turning to the next big topic, such as the economy and immigration reform. For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans, there are several pieces of legislation that have been waiting on the back-burner that need to be addressed, but perhaps chief among them is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Well, ENDA's time may finally be near.

[MI, USA]Transgender singer tells story at SVSULead singer of the Toronto-based queer band The Cliks visited SVSU for Gender Awareness week to share his experience with gender identity.Lucas Silveira, an open transgender male, presented to students the struggles to achieve one’s full potential in a world that views gender in two categories: male or female.(Photo by James Fry - Lucas Silveira, lead singer of the rock band The Cliks, told an audience Wednesday about the difficulties facing people who feel they were born a gender different from their biological sex.)

[UK]Transgenders seek safer livesA London cafe has issued a challenge to independent coffee houses all over the continent: make your shops safe for transgendered people on March 31. "Even during the heyday of the gay and lesbian movement in the 1960s, transgendered people were kicked out of the movement," said Linda Wayne, owner of the East Village Coffee House, on Dundas St. beside the Aeolian Hall.

[India]From victim to victorLife for the 6,000 transgenders in Bangalore would become miserable if they were not aware of their rights and privileges in society. If it comes to atrocities on transgenders, sex workers and eunuchs, the police station is the first place. Be it using filthy language or extracting money from them, the police lag behind none. Rowdy elements are another menace for transgenders.

[Australia] [Blog/Commentary]Is calling 'Tranny' an offensive word Offensive?No thats not a joke. Or a defence of bigotry.This is a VERY serious question.One relating to Cultural Imperialism, to Class, to Transphobia between subsets of Transgender, to anti-sex-worker hate too.The calls for Tranny to be considered a dirty word have been substantial. And they have some clear merit. Most of the time we encounter the word in the general media it's used as a derogatory word.

[Canada] [Commentary]Disordered terminologyOver the past few years, the medical establishment has been moving away from the terms “intersex conditions” or “intersex people” toward “disorders of sex development” (DSD). The aim of this shift, according to the 2006 “consensus statement” in the journal Pediatrics, is to avoid using confusing or pejorative language to describe medical conditions. Another concern is that the term “intersex” might push an identity on people with different sex characteristics that they do not want.

Protest/rally Against Tribeca’s Decision to Premiere Transphobic Film “Ticked Off Trannies With Knives”

Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People. (MAGNET)

For immediate release

March 28, 2010

Protest/rally Against Tribeca’s Decision to Premiere Transphobic Film “Ticked Off Trannies With Knives”

What: A protest/rally demanding that Tribeca Film Festival remove the transphobic film “Ticked Off Trannies With Knives (TOTWK)”. Melissa Sklarz- Director of New York Trans Rights, celebrities, elected officials & LGBT activists will be speaking.

Why: TOTWK makes humor of “violence and rape” against transwomen , insensitively exploits the high profile murder of teenage girl Angie Zapata, includes the pejorative term “trannies” in its title, inaccurately depicts transwomen as dragqueen “performers” and misrepresents the lives of an extremely disenfranchised group who suffer violence at alarming rates.

“The transsexual and transgender communities are all too often the victims of violence and discrimination as a result of inaccurate media depictions like this film, which is offensive, dehumanizing and misogynistic and causes further misunderstanding and harm to an already dangerously oppressed minority group”, states Ashley Love, Organizer of Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People (MAGNET).

MAGNET had a meeting with staff at Tribeca Center on Friday, March 26, educating them why this film is extremely problematic and dehumanizing. They refused to remove the film or make a statement that they don’t endorse the oppression of transsexual and transgender women, so MAGNET is now organizing a protest/rally in association with Families United Against Hate, International Foundation For Gender Education, New York Trans Rights Organization and Remembering Our Dead to demand that they remove the film, and to draw attention to injustices trans people face in everyday life and in the media. Many trans advocates, trans organizations and allies voiced their concerns to GLAAD, expressing they needed aggressive action. GLAAD issued an uncompromising and strong petition & call to action calling for Tribeca to remove the film. http://www.glaad.org/calltoaction/032510

To support or endorse the protest on Tuesday, receive information about issues raised or become involved in anti-defamation/media work for the transsexual and transgender communities:

[USA]Transforming OklahomaBrittany Novotny sent a letter to Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern this week — she of the quotable statements "Gays are a bigger threat to the nation than terrorism or even Islam" and "We're trying to teach 2-year-olds that homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle."The letter was Novotny's way of introducing herself, letting Kern know she plans to run against her in the upcoming election after several of Kern's constituents encouraged Novotny to take on the challenge. (Photo)

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]Health Care Reform: NCTE On its impact on Transgender PeopleI will say upfront that the health care bill is a horrible bill and fails to really accomplish full reform. That said, it is an improvement because the US health care system (and I use that term very loosely) is beyond horrible. A system that makes it easier for everyone to get and keep coverage is better than a system that makes it easy for people to be excluded for arbitrary reasons. It still doesn’t go a fraction as far as it needs to, and of course disallowing transition-related health care is still legally allowed discrimination under the reformed health care. The new boss is only slightly friendlier than the old boss.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]What Do We Want? And When Do We Want It? ENDA NOWThe media and the blogosphere are starting to blossom with stories about ENDA on speculation that it will come to a vote in the House in two weeks. Compared to other LGBT issues, there have been very few stories about ENDA in the past year, a source of considerable frustration to me.

[OR, USA]Census poses unique problems for local womanFor most people, filling out the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire is a matter of taking 10 minutes and filling out some simple questions.Not so for one Payette resident.Catherine Carlson says filling out the Census report is a task that simply cannot be done in her situation.“I can’t fill this thing out, because I don’t know how to answer it,” Carlson said.Carlson had her name legally changed from Daniel Carlson to Catherine Carlson in the 1970s, while living in California. In 1980, she underwent a sex reassignment surgery to change her gender from a man to a woman.(Photo: Catherine Carlson, Payette, holds up a copy of the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire. Carlson says she cannot answer questions on the Census because she is transgender and the Idaho and federal governments do not recognize her as a female even though she has undergone a sex reassignment surgery.)

[Turkey]Turkey's transsexuals popular on TV but not at homeSinger Bulent Ersoy is renowned for her elaborate wardrobe, formidable decolletage, countless albums, a stint on Turkey's most popular TV talent show and a spin-off film career. She was also born a man.The transsexual Ersoy — and a host of other ambiguously sexed entertainers — have achieved success despite the conservatism of Turkish society and the prejudice that faces the country's gay and transgender communities.(Photo: Bulent Kilic, AFP/Getty Images - Famous Turkish transexual singer Bulent Ersoy walks to the courthouse in Istanbul, on September 24, 2008.)

[Indonesia]Indonesian Islamists Vow That Gay Conference Will Not ProceedPressure from Islamic organizations has finally forced the organizers of the planned International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA) conference in Surabaya to cancel the event.“We have contacted the participants [and told them] that the congress is being cancelled,” said Tan Oey, one of the organizing committee of ILGA’s fourth Asian conference, which was to be held from today until Sunday.

I then was auto-logged out and when I logged back in it said my login had been disabled. Since when is posting about GLAAD’s petition of the movie a violation of Facebook’s TOS? What exactly was reported as abusive? I can’t figure out if the petition itself has been reported as abusive, or the fact that someone *cough* *cough* might have been a tad pissed that my blog post mentioned the producer’s part time escort gig?

[MS, USA]Trans Student Suspended from Same School in Mississippi That Canceled Prom, Later Hounded Out of TownConstance McMillen wasn't the first student at Itawamba Agricultural High School to contact the ACLU this year.Juin Baize was a student at Itawamba Agricultural—for a grand total of four hours.(...)Things reached a crisis stage over the weekend when the friends-of-friends who had been putting up Bertsinger and her three children told her that Juin would have to leave. Bertsinger called some old friends who live in Pensacola, Florida, and asked if they would take Juin in. Her friends drove to Fulton the same night to pick Juin up. Bertsinger is granting temporary guardianship of her son to her friends until, she says, she can find a job and save enough money to move to Florida with her other two children.(...) (Photo)[Blog/Commentary] Constance McMillen's High School Also Suspended a Transgender Student. Just 'Cause

[TX, USA]Surviving life on the streetsShawn Tripp is a lucky man. He says so himself. He says he’s a survivor and it’s a miracle that he’s still alive. And you have to believe him.Tripp is one of those people who seems to turn every curse into a blessing and unknowingly inspire everyone else.“It’s no big deal,” he says. “It is just life.”Tripp, born on Independence Day in 1988, is now 21. Four years ago, his parents kicked him out of their home in Hurst for being a lesbian. He now identifies as a transgender man.(Photo: Renee Baker/Dallas Voice - Shawn Tripp lived under the Harry Hines Boulevard bridge over Inwood Road after his parents kicked him out of the house at age 17.)

[Turkey]Turkey's transsexuals popular on TV but not at homeSinger Bulent Ersoy is renowned for her elaborate wardrobe, formidable décolletage, countless albums, a stint on Turkey's most popular TV talent show and a spin-off film career. She was also born a man.

[IL, USA]Remembering Johannah Baker-Johnson, Transgender Advocate: July 26, 1983- March 15, 2010With the faintest good-natured grin and worried eyes, Johannah would draw out his laptop, shift his chair from side to side, and wait for community meetings to start. Always a little ill at ease, always apologetic in his movements, Johanna Baker-Johnson was the quietest kind of advocate for transgender rights. But she was also the most persistent.

[IL, USA]Transgender Woman Fights Public Housing DiscriminationTransgender people often face housing discrimination. So the federal government is currently conducting a first-ever study to learn more about it. In Chicago, one woman has faced bias from a tenant. She lives in public housing for seniors. And unlike many other transgender people, she’s speaking up. (Photo: Gloria Allen)

Since our last Council 2008 in Berlin, significant developments have evolved all over Europe: The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe published his visionary Issue Paper “Human Rights and Gender Identity”; France announced that it would be the first European country to take steps to de-pathologize Gender Identity Disorder - GID; in the mean time Turkish trans people keep on being exposed to a brutal series of hate crimes, with at least 8 murdered in the last few months.

The European transgender movement has seen incredible growth and is strongly connected with its international counterparts. It is time, to take stock of recent developments and think together about how to maximize human rights for ALL trans people in Europe. We must make our cause inclusive, to ensure that rights and respect are not given to the few. We must not accidentally or greedily exclude the more invisible members of our community.

So, we are delighted to invite you to the

Third European Transgender Council 2010.

This year’s council will be held in Malmo in Sweden from Thursday evening, September 30th till Sunday afternoon, October 3rd. So save the date and join us in Sweden for the biggest European forum for transgender rights and activism!

This year’s Transgender Council ‘s motto will be

Embracing Diversity. Stretching Boundaries. Demanding Rights

As previously the third Council will be open to all trans people, including cross dressers, transgender people, transvestite and travestie, transsexual people and LGBTI human rights activists, friends, allies and spouses.

Traditionally the General Assembly of Transgender Europe is held on Saturday afternoon including the election of board and steering committee of TGEU for 2010 – 2012.

In the mean time we invite you to get nostalgic about what was best in the councils you have attended, or to give us a new idea about what the European Transgender Council should be about: At http://www.blogger.com/www.tgeu.org/council2008 you find impressions from the Council held in Berlin.

We are looking forward to see you all in Malmo! (just a 35 minute train journey from Copenhagen Airport)

[Malawi]Detained gay couple to face trial in MalawiTwo men face up to 14 years in jail in a case that human rights activists say is a test case for gay rights, as well as one that could undermine efforts to curtail Malawi's devastating HIV infection rates.

[Pakistan]GIA urges govt to help terminally ill office-bearerSania Baloch, 22, the transgender general secretary of Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA), is fighting for her life in hospital and seeks financial support from the government. GIA President Bindia Rana said Baloch was suffering from cancer and was taken to the Aga Khan University Hospital, where the administration refused to admit her because she was unable to pay the treatment expenses of Rs 3 million. Rana added that Baloch was on the verge of survival and GIA had requested government institutions to help her, while Baloch’s family has even sold their kitchenware to raise money for her treatment. Baloch’s friends and GIA activists have set up a camp in front of the Karachi Press Club to raise money.

[Australia/Pakistan]Transgendered Pakistani woman granted refugee statusA transgendered Pakistani woman has been granted refugee status by the Refugee Review Tribunal. The Tribunal decided the matter on review from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, which found that the applicant was not a refugee.

[Australia]Norrie ready to do battle with govtNorrie mAy-welby has complained to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) after NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages cancelled the “sex not specified” certificate it provided in February.Norrie received the certificate the day before the Mardi Gras parade and the story was picked up by news services around the globe when norrie went public last week.But norrie received a phone call from Registrar Greg Curry on Tuesday last week, saying the certificate would be cancelled.

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]Appropriation Tales: Israel Luna and dead trans womenExcerpt: I felt sick. I have seen the lives and even the deaths of trans people appropriated by cis LGB culture before, but I didn’t think anyone would be so crass as to describe in lurid detail the deaths of two trans people (ironic in how quickly many cis gays were to distance Jorge Mercado from any sort of trans identity before) to promote a COMEDY. A drag queen comedy directed by a cissexual gay man. Even more troubling is the pornographic description of their deaths. Do cis people not realize how incredibly triggering and damaging it can be having to read the detailed description of how a trans person was murdered? And then the sickening punch of realizing it was done in the aim of promoting a comedy?

[USA]Health Care Reform Signed into LawPresident Barack Obama today signed into law an historic bill designed to increase access to health care throughout the United States. NCTE applauds the healthcare reform bill's passage into law. Through this act, more people, including transgender people, will be able to afford health insurance, be covered by existing plans, and obtain the care they need.

[UK]The third sex: The truth about gender ambiguityThe greek scholar Diodorus Siculus wrote of the mythical double-sexed Hermaphroditus: "Some say [he] is a god and ... has a body which is beautiful and delicate like that of a woman, but has the masculine quality and vigour of a man. But there are some who declare that such creatures of two sexes are monstrosities, and coming rarely into the world as they do, have the quality of presaging the future, sometimes for evil and sometimes for good."

[Iran]Sex-change Iranian actor returns to screensShe earned her acting credentials playing female characters in a host of hit films and television dramas. Now one of Iran's best-known screen actors has ditched her previous persona to embark on a new career playing male roles.But Saman – formerly Farzaneh – Arastu's gender transformation has little to do with dramatic talents. Instead she has turned into a he by becoming the first known Iranian actor to undergo a sex change operation.Iranian actor returns to screens after gender reassignment

[Pakistan]Non-implementation of SC order on trans-sexualsThe Sindh High Court (SHC) issued notices to the National Database Regulatory Authority’s (Nadra) legal adviser, deputy director Passport Office, provincial coordinator of the Social Welfare Department and others in a petition filed by the trans-sexuals, seeking implementation of Supreme Court’s (SC) directives regarding the welfare of their community.

[India]Transgender candidate Veena gets the hut symbolThe hut is the election symbol of Veena S, the first transgender to contest an election in South India.Veena is contesting the BBMP election from Okalipuram (ward number 96). She promised that she would try to clean politics and appealed to voters not to sell their votes to cash-rich politicians. She said that she would start canvassing from March 22. She is planning to rope in transgenders and volunteers from the city outskirts for canvassing.

[China]Don't try this at homeA young man who wants to be a woman took matters into his own hands with scissors in Changsha, Hunan Province on March 16 when he cut off his right testicle.

[New Zealand]Breach leads to jail term for transgender manA transgender man will be kept apart from other New Plymouth prison inmates for the length of his six-month prison sentence.Hina Tutaki, also known as Hendrix Waitere, was sent to jail yesterday after admitting making a break from home detention which was being served at his mother's home.

[USA]’Americans for Truth’ Labeled a ’Hate Group’Anti-gay blog Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is rather like a publicity engine for gay and lesbian causes, only in reverse: its constant reporting on gay issues (including the occasional in-depth, undercover reportage from various gay gatherings) are written from the perspective that gays and lesbians are "sinners" who "choose" to embrace the gay "lifestyle."

[USA]Not the ENDA the RoadFour arrested as Get Equal stages protest in Speaker Pelosi's office to highlight need for employment protections for LGBT workersWith high-profile arrests in front of the White House, a sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's offices in Washington, D.C., and a coordinated sit-in at her San Francisco offices that both led to arrests and citations, Thursday, March 18, saw some of the most significant direct actions from LGBT activists in recent years.(From left to right: Chastity Kirven, Jay Carmona, Michelle Wright and Samantha Ames - Photo by Todd Franson)

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]Hate 101: Gay and Lesbian Transphobia – IntroductionI’m not sure what one reason suddenly spurred me to write this article.Perhaps it was more than one. Like when I read Maureen Dowd’s Op-Ed piece in the New York Times about how Ted Olson claimed he has been named an honorary lesbian by a large lesbian group.Maybe it was David Letterman’s latest transphobic skit, intended to insult and degrade the newly appointed Senior Technical Adviser to the Commerce Department, which wasn’t long after Letterman’s slam at Thomas Beattie, referring to the then pregnant transman as “an androgynous freak show.” While the response from HRC and GLADD was swift and clear regarding Simpson (I believe because she is an Obama appointee, and for no other reason), the silence surrounding Letterman’s remarks about Beattie was deafening. Even then, many gay and lesbian blog sites insisted we who fall under the umbrella term “transgender” should get over it, after all it was only a joke, right?[Blog/Commentary] Hate 101: Gay and Lesbian Transphobia – Historical[Blog/Commentary] Hate 101: Gay and Lesbian Transphobia – The Consequences

[AZ, USA]Candlelight vigil honors hate crime victimPolice are still searching for the person that killed a man four years ago in an alleged hate crime.Another year, another candlelight vigil for 22-year-old Maurice Green, but there still has not been any arrest for his murder.

[TX,USA]2nd officer fired over alleged misconductA day after authorities confirmed a San Antonio police officer had been fired for having sex in the back of his patrol car, another embattled officer — this one accused of sexually assaulting a transgendered woman — was told he also was being terminated, officials said.

[International] [Blog/News]Inclusive Human Rights Reports Highlight Anti-Trans Abuses WorldwideNCTE commends the US State Department’s annual human rights reports to Congress for highlighting severe and growing abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people worldwide. The reports, which summarize human rights conditions in every country besides the US, are a critical tool for understanding and addressing the dire threats facing LGBT people in their daily lives in many parts of the world.

[Iran]Iranian actor returns to screens after gender reassignmentAn Iranian actor has returned to screens as a man after transitioning.Saman Arastu, who was previously known as Farzaneh, had a strong career as a woman, playing television and film roles.Now, the 42-year-old has taken advantage of Iran's liberal laws on gender reassignment after years of counselling and has returned to acting.

[India]An evolution in gender politics: A transsexual contests BBMP elections in KarnatakaVeena S a Dalit and transsexual, who is a part of various social movements fighting for the rights of minorities, sexual minorities, sex workers & women.will now be contesting the BBMP election.Praja Rajakiya Vedike (PRV), a forum for city-based activists, has nominated two of their candidates for the upcoming BBMP elections: Veena S. from Okalipuram ward and A. Derick Anil from Hebbala ward.(Photo: Veena S. is a transsexual and Dalit, and wants to bring about a change in society is contesting BBMP elections.)

[India]Transgenders say they still face ‘harassment’ in cityThe Delhi High Court’s judgment decriminalising homosexuality has hardly made any difference to the rate of gay hate crimes in the city, it was revealed at the State Consultation for MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) and Transgenders organised by MANAS Bangla in Science City today.

[New Zealand]Breach leads to jail term for transgender manA transgender man will be kept apart from other New Plymouth prison inmates for the length of his six-month prison sentence.Hina Tutaki, also known as Hendrix Waitere, was sent to jail yesterday after admitting making a break from home detention which was being served at his mother's home.Tutaki was last year given a sentence of home detention on a raft of mostly fraud-related offences. At the time, the home detention was allowed, mostly because of the tormenting the effeminate man would likely face in prison.

[Canada]Tanya Bloomfield to run Bluenose Marathon barefootedTanya Bloomfield plans to raise money for Halifax's LGBTQ community by ticking off one thing on her bucket list: running a marathon, barefoot. Bloomfield, sponsorship coordinator for Halifax Pride, hopes to raise $10,000 for Safe Harbour Metropolitan Community Church when she runs the Bluenose Marathon this May.Safe Harbour (3115 Veith Street) is a Christian organization, embracing the "Rainbow Community." Though not religious, Bloomfield, a transgendered woman herself, is impressed by the church's inclusiveness.

[Canada] [Blog/Commentary]Patent Pending: Transgender vs. TranssexualWhat is the difference between a transgender person and a transsexual person, I've been asked recently by two people.You'd think it would be an easy question to answer. Ask 10 people, and you probably will get 10 different answers. I think a lot of it is personal interpretation. But before I give my opinion, let's see what GLAAD has to say in their Media Reference Guide (link listed under Sites I Like):

[USA] [Blog/Commentary]Fighting a hate crime bill with hateYou gotta love it: An extremist political group is campaigning against a hate crimes bill with a hateful undercover video that only proves the need for just such a measure. Mass Resistance, a "pro-family action center" in Massachusetts, recently went undercover with a video camera at a transgender conference with the intention of documenting the horrors that would allegedly be introduced with the passage of a state bill outlawing gender-based discrimination and hate crimes. The supposedly damning evidence: Footage of transgender women using the ladies' restroom.[Blog/Commentary] Mass Resistance made me mad enough to vomit

[DC, USA]The State of Transgender Hate Crimes in D.C.Last month, D.C. police released a report breaking down every hate crime reported in D.C. [PDF] over the past five years. In 2007, changes to the D.C. Human Rights Act required police to begin recording hate-bias crimes motivated by the victim’s “gender identity or expression”—in other words, crimes that specifically target transgender victims. Since then, crimes against the transgender community have been the second most frequently recorded type of hate crime committed in D.C., after sexual orientation.

[LA,USA]Alexandria Police: Two men shot at prostitute when they found out 'she' was really a 'he'Alexandria Police officers arrested two men who shot at an Alexandria man early Wednesday morning after they discovered that the victim, who was dressed as a woman and had just performed sexual acts on both men, really was a man, authorities reported.The victim told police that the shooters became angry when they discovered he was a man and not a woman. The victim was not injured.

[TX, USA]SAPD officer suspended indefinitelyA San Antonio police officer has been placed on indefinite suspension after being accused of a string of misconduct, including, most recently, that he had sex with a woman in the back of his patrol car while on duty, according to city documents.Officer Christopher Martinez, 35, is the second officer accused of engaging in sexual transgressions this year while in uniform.

[Cuba]Cuba once persecuted homosexuals, transsexuals, now quietly pays for sex-change operationsLooking in the mirror used to make Yiliam Gonzalez sick to her stomach."I would see myself, and my body didn't match who I was," said the 28-year-old wedding pianist, who went by William before receiving a sex change under Cuba's universal health care system. (Photo: The Associated Press/Javier Galeano - Yiliam Gonzalez, left, speaks with her mother Janeth Anchia as they clean dishes in a friend's home in Havana. Gonzalez is one of eight transsexuals to undergo a sex change under Cuba's universal health care system.)